Films featuring Kung Fu

Here Wing Chun is set against karate as taught by a Marine instructor. The tabletop bout with a Tai Chi master illustrates the difference between hard and soft approaches to force.

The fight in the narrow lift is the series' most-cited scene — exactly the range Wing Chun is built for. Mike Tyson appears as an opponent fighting boxing, not Wing Chun.

The only Ip Man film that also presents Baguazhang and Xingyiquan as schools in their own right. Yuen Woo-ping's choreography is built on the differences between styles rather than on spectacle.

Despite the title, the film teaches Chinese kung fu, not karate — the most common misconception about this title. It was released in some markets as The Kung Fu Kid for that reason.

The round-table duel showcases Wing Chun in confined space, where footwork and stability decide. The closing bout against the boxer is a screenwriter's device, not a documented event.

Fight choreography by Sammo Hung. The chain punches and close-range work are recognisably Wing Chun, but the Ip Man of the film is a character, not a record — the duel with the Japanese general never happened.

The last film in which Jet Li performs traditional wushu. Huo Yuanjia and the Jingwu school are historical, but the circumstances of his death are still read in different ways and the film picks one version.

A parody that doubles as a style survey: Hung Gar, Tai Chi, Xingyi and the legendary Buddha Palm all appear. Choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping and Sammo Hung — the exaggeration is deliberate, but the styles are correctly identified.

The fights are images of an idea rather than real technique — the duel imagined over a board game says so openly. Calligraphy and swordsmanship are treated as one discipline, which matches Chinese tradition.

The film that opened wuxia to Western audiences and won an Oscar. Yuen Woo-ping choreographs the jian swordplay; the rooftop flight is a wuxia genre convention, not any trained style.

The steel-mill fight is widely regarded as Jackie Chan's finest. The Hung Gar shown here matches what Wong Fei-hung actually taught — unlike most films about him.

One of the few films to present tai chi as a fighting art rather than morning exercise in the park. The principle of redirecting an opponent's force instead of stopping it is demonstrated clearly.

The duel on burning poles is one of the most-quoted wire scenes ever filmed. Donnie Yen shows northern-style kicking against southern hand work — a contrast the film sets up deliberately.

A family drama rather than an action film — yet the scene in which eight people fail to move the master is the finest screen illustration of the push-hands principle and of rooting.

The ladder fight is among the most technically demanding scenes in Hong Kong cinema. Wong Fei-hung was a real Hung Gar master and traditional physician, but the film is historical drama, not biography.

Jet Li's debut, shot with members of China's competitive wushu squad. The forms are competition taolu, not traditional monastery practice — a distinction the film does not make but which is key to understanding modern wushu.

The most influential film about Shaolin training ever made — its chamber structure shaped how the world pictures monastery practice. San Te is loosely drawn from a historical monk, but the chambers are a cinematic invention.

The film that founded the kung fu comedy and made Jackie Chan a star. Zui Quan is a real style — the staggering is a feint; the centre of gravity is in fact tightly controlled.

The only Ip Man film that also presents Baguazhang and Xingyiquan as schools in their own right. Yuen Woo-ping's choreography is built on the differences between styles rather than on spectacle.

The only Ip Man film that also presents Baguazhang and Xingyiquan as schools in their own right. Yuen Woo-ping's choreography is built on the differences between styles rather than on spectacle.

The last film in which Jet Li performs traditional wushu. Huo Yuanjia and the Jingwu school are historical, but the circumstances of his death are still read in different ways and the film picks one version.

Tarantino knowingly blends Hong Kong kung fu, the Japanese samurai film and the spaghetti western. The Hattori Hanzō sword is a nod to a real historical figure — an Edo-period ninja — but the swordplay itself is stylisation, not kenjutsu.

The steel-mill fight is widely regarded as Jackie Chan's finest. The Hung Gar shown here matches what Wong Fei-hung actually taught — unlike most films about him.

One of the few films to present tai chi as a fighting art rather than morning exercise in the park. The principle of redirecting an opponent's force instead of stopping it is demonstrated clearly.

The nunchaku scene from this film made the weapon famous worldwide — Western audiences had not seen it before. The Jingwu (Chin Woo) school genuinely existed, but the plot is fiction.